Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Sara Starkey Christine Fournier Ruth Drouillard Montrealites.

ca 1455 de Maisonneuve West LB - 683.02 Montreal, QC, H3G 1M8 Phone: 514-848-2424 ext 4674 http://www.montrealites.ca/MTL-IceStorm.html email@montrealites.ca Ice Storm Hits Montreal Montreal, QC - January 20, 1998 The Ice Storm that hit southern Quebec, Ontario and parts of the northwest United States that began overnight on January 5, 1998 and lasted for five days though the repercussions were felt for weeks. Approximately 108mm of freezing rain feel on the province and city, causing extensive property damage. Millions were left without electricity when power lines and pylons collapsed under the weight of the ice. Residents in Montreal were without power for days when the lines to the island went down. Access to the city was limited in the beginning as bridges and tunnels were closed because of concerns from the accumulation of ice on these structures as well as falling ice chunks. If a tree has fallen on an electrical line on your property, please call Hydro-Quebec, for fallen trees and other damage it is recommended to call your municipality's public works department to see if they can be of any assistance. Government compensation program have been put into place to help those who have been affected by the storm. The provincial government has announced that those who were without power after January 12th, will receive 10$ per day per person if they live in a Hydro Quebec-designated municipality. To receive compensation through this program, you must contact your municipality after the power is restored and cheques must be collected by February 15, 1998. For Montreal residents the number to call is (514) 872-6066. The Quebec Government has also set up a program to help people with low incomes in order to help replace essential items, such as groceries, that were lost during the disaster. A family must have no insurance and meet certain income eligibilities. An application must be submitted in person at a TravailQuebec center. Lastly, Hydro-Quebec has announced that it will waive the $.037 service fee they charge on a daily basis to hook-up to their system for the period a residence or business was without electricity.

For more details and information, please visit our website at montrealites.com/MTL_IceStorm. ###